SynclavierX is now available as a Mac OS X native application! This port to Mac OS X preserves most of the real-time features of OS 9's Synclavier® PowerPC™ implementation, however EditView, MIDINet, AutoConform and TransferMation are not available at this time.

This 2012 release of SynclavierX includes a full-featured OS-X Core MIDI driver that will let SynclavierX communicate with other Macintosh applications using fully-routable "virtual" MIDI ports. A MIDI Patching Window lets SynclavierX communicate with actual MIDI hardware devices. Also in this version is the ability to import or export a Synclavier® sequence from or to a Macintosh MIDI file. The SynclavierX Core MIDI driver can also facilitate the transfer of legacy Synclavier® sequences to a modern digital audio platform. Read more about the SynclavierX Core MIDI driver in its PDF Documentation.

Simply stated, SynclavierX is a port to Mac OS X of the application previously released as Synclavier® PowerPC for Mac OS 9. While many of Synclavier® PowerPC's features have been preserved during the port to Mac OS X, some features - such as EditView and the Digital STM- are not yet available in the Mac OS X native implementation.

The Synclavier® Digital Audio System used a proprietary 16-bit computer both to manage sound files and to operate its sequence engine (called a "digital memory recorder" at the time) and button panel. While the Synclavier®'s central processor was obsoleted by advances in computer technology in the early 1990's, its voice cards produce a unique sound that has not yet been replaced.

in 1998 Synclavier® Digital Corporation developed a hardware product called the PCI-1. This PCI-card allows a modern Macintosh computer to communicate with and to control original Synclavier® voice cards. Synclavier® PowerPC™ created an emulation environment running in Mac OS 9 that faithfully operated the Synclavier® Real Time Software. This emulation environment effectively replaced the obsolete computer technology of a Synclavier® Digital Audio System with software running natively on a PowerPC central processing unit.

SynclavierX makes the central features of the Synclavier® Real Time Software available as a Mac OS X native application.

What real-time features are available in SynclavierX?

• All features of the Synclavier® button panel are preserved in full within SynclavierX.
• The "sound" of the Synclavier® itself is preserved in SynclavierX. That is, sequences and timbres played using SynclavierX should sound identical as when played by the original Synclavier® 16-bit computer hardware, provided sufficient voice cards are available. If anything, heightened rhythmic accuracy and more robust real time effects should be observed in SynclavierX, especially when playing massively complex sequences. Support for the original Synclavier® FM voices should be complete.
• The companion application called InterChangeX (included with SynclavierX) provides a comprehensive File Management solution for Synclavier® hard drives and their Macintosh-native equivalent known as Synclavier® Disk Image Files.
• All Synclavier®-native programs such as SFM ("Sound File Manager"), the Synclavier® Music Printing Option and the Direct-to-Disk option (except EditView) are believed to be supported in full in SynclavierX.

What real-time features are NOT available in SynclavierX?

• The ancillary Macintosh-native applications such as EditView, AutoConform, MIDINet and TransferMation are not yet available in OS X. While it is conceivable that EditView, AutoConform and MIDINet could be made available in OS X at a later time, TransferMation will not be available due to its use of the (obsolete) Pascal computer language and its reliance on the (obsolete) MacApp application framework.
• The "Digital STM" option from OS 9 is not available in OS X. The Digital STM functionality could be replaced by a full-featured interconnection to the Mac OS X Core Audio system in a later release of SynclavierX.
• Most legacy SCSI disk drives appear to operate with SynclavierX using the RATOC FR1SX FireWire-to-SCSI Converter. Due to the lack of working hardware I was not able to test with a real 12" WORM drive nor a "Tahiti" Magneto-Optical drive. The 12" WORM drive and "Tahiti" Magneto-Optical drive will likely work correctly with a PowerPC-based Macintosh, but will most likely NOT work correctly on an Intel-based Macintosh.

Download, Purchase and Support:

A free trial version of SynclavierX is available for download via our SynclavierX download link (15.0 MB). This fully functioning version lets you try out SynclavierX for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes SynclavierX stops responding unless a valid license code is entered. An activation license code can be purchased directly within SynclavierX for instant activation, or it can be purchased via e-mail from our Kagi On-Line Store. The cost of this license is US $ 250.00. E-mail support for SynclavierX is available for licensed users by purchasing an Email Technical Support Incident for SynclavierX (also available from our Kagei On-Line Store). Fee-based telephone support can be arranged through an independent Synclavier® expert; see our contact information for details.

System Requirements:

SynclavierX is not necessarily useful without a PCI-1 hardware interface card and the necessary Synclavier® voice cards and optional SMPTE timecode reader. The PCI-1 hardware interface was developed according to the PCI 2.1 standard, which means it is not immediately compatible with modern G5 Macintosh computers which use a technology called PCI-X; the PCI-1 also is not currently in production. The PCI-1 itself, however, is compatible with dual processor G4 PowerMac computers and works extremely will in OS X on those platforms. Several third-party vendors have announced PCI-X to PCI bus-bridge devices that may, in fact, make the PCI-1 hardware available for use in a G5 or an Intel-based Macintosh computer, however, those devices have not been tested and their compatibility and availability is not certain at this time. Versions of SynclavierX are available for Mac OS X v. 10.4.11 ("Tiger") or later (not including Mac OS X 10.8 "Lion") and is built as a Universal Application for use on both PowerPC and Intel Macintosh computers..

OS 9 and OS X Interoperability:

SynclavierX is fully compatible with data files and disk image files created by OS 9's Synclavier® PowerPC™ application. Users with an existing OS 9 installation should be able to install the latest Mac OS X without disturbing their OS 9 installation in any way. The Startup Disk preference pane in OS X can be used to switch back to OS 9 at any time. Note that Synclavier® PowerPC™ for OS 9 does not support Synclavier® disk image files larger than 2 GB in size, so limit your disk image files to that size if you wish to interoperate with OS 9. Synclavier® PowerPC™ for OS 9 does not work in OS X's "Classic" mode; you will need to reboot in OS 9 to use Synclavier® PowerPC™.

If you are using real Synclavier® SCSI hard drives in OS 9, be advised that the SCSI adapter you are using in OS 9 will probably not operate in OS X. You would likely have to reconnect your Synclavier® SCSI drives via the RATOC FR1SX FireWire-to-SCSI Converter as you switch to OS X.

Configuration changes you make with InterChangeX (such as choosing an image file for W0:) will also have to be repeated in InterChange™ 2.5 for OS 9. Once the device configuration are identical, switching between OS 9 and OS X should be seamless as long as disk image files are less than 2GB in size.